ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR -- (Marketwire) -- 12/10/12 -- Housing starts in St. John's, Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 2,215 units in November, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend is a six month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR)(1) of housing starts. The standalone monthly SAAR was 2,148 units in November, up from 1,659 in October.

"After eleven months, multiple starts have advanced considerably and supported the increase in total new home construction activity throughout the St. John's area. Growth in population, income and employment, paired with favourable mortgage rates, has supported housing demand this year," said Chris Janes, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for St. John's.

CMHC uses the trend measure as a complement to the monthly SAAR of housing starts to account for considerable swings in monthly estimates and obtain a more complete picture of the state of the housing market. In some situations, analyzing only SAAR data can be misleading in some markets, as they are largely driven by the multiples segment of the markets, which can be quite variable from one month to the next.

Single-detached starts added 103 actual units in November compared to 130 units a year ago. Multiple starts totalled 84 actual units in November versus 77 units in November of last year. Year-to-date total starts have reached 1,963 actual units, with 1,172 singles and 791 multiples. Overall, total starts this year remain ten per cent ahead of last year's pace.

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 65 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of quality, environmentally sustainable and affordable housing solutions. CMHC also provides reliable, impartial and up-to-date housing market reports, analysis and knowledge to support and assist consumers and the housing industry in making informed decisions.

(1) All starts figures in this release, other than actual starts and the trend estimate, are seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) - that is, monthly figures adjusted to remove normal seasonal variation and multiplied by 12 to reflect annual levels. By removing seasonal ups and downs, seasonal adjustment allows for a comparison from one season to the next and from one month to the next. Reporting monthly figures at annual rates indicates the annual level of starts that would be obtained if the monthly pace was maintained for 12 months. This facilitates comparison of the current pace of activity to annual forecasts as well as to historical annual levels.